Michigan Concealed Pistol Licensees Increase 25% in 14 Months

On 3 May, 2015, Governor Rick Snyder signed a sweeping reform of the Concealed Pistol License laws into effect. While much of the law went into effect immediately, the reform that removed the power of county gun boards to arbitrarily deny concealed pistol licenses did not go into full effect until 1 December, 2016.  Coincident with the reform, the number of CPLs have increased dramatically. From mlive.com:

Michigan has seen a 25% increase in concealed pistol licenses in 14 months, when state law changed to make it easier to get a CPL.

A total of 621,327 Michigan residents had a concealed pistol license as of Feb. 1 compared to 497,016 as of Dec. 1, 2016, according to Michigan State Police data.

Dec. 1, 2016, was the effective date of a state law eliminating county gun boards that ruled on CPL applications. The boards could deny a permit if they determined the license would be detrimental to the safety of the applicant or any other person.

Under the new law, county clerks and the Michigan State Police are now responsible for processing concealed weapon applications.

In 2018, there are 7.24 million people in Michigan over the age of 21. Of those, .621 million have Concealed Pistol Licenses (CPL).  On average 8.6% of Michigan residents over the age of 21 have a CPL.

Other reforms passed in the 2015 law were:

• No charge for second set of fingerprints if required by the state.
• If no permit or disqualification in 45 days, receipt acts as permit.
• Plastic, not paper used for the permit material
• Notification of expiration 3-6 months before expiration  
• Allow online application of renewal
• Active duty military and reserves to be able to apply for renewal by mail if on duty outside the state.
• Expiration date of permit extended if renewal made in time.
• Range time for renewal requirement met with certification on renewal form that applicants have complied with 3 hours review of training, 1 hour range time, within 6 months of renewal.
• Record keeping by the State patrol of offenses committed by license holders.

In November of 2016, Hillary Clinton received 2,268,839 votes for president. Donald Trump received 2,279,543 votes for president, winning with a margin of 10,704 votes.

President Trump campaigned on strong support of the Second Amendment, and particularly support for concealed carry reciprocity across the United States.

An increase of 124,311 CPLs in Michigan suggests an increasing base for President Trump in the state.  Much may depend on how President Trump treats Second Amendment and national reciprocity issues in the months ahead.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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